LET'S MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE, LETS DISTURB THE DEVIL: BOOGIE BROWN BAND
I think that is completely useless to try to explain you how Internet
get better the worldwide contacts concerning reggae music. Thanks to
Internet we got in touch with a people who contributed in doing the
true reggae history. Im talking of Clinton Fearon, better known in
Jamaica as Basie, great bassman playing for long time in the Kingston
recording studios (resident bass player at Studio One and at Black Ark)
and member of the Albert Griffiths Gladiators. As a lot of Jamaican
artists Clinton left Jamaica to establish in Seattle, USA but his
musical history is not ended yet. In the city of grounge, Clinton formed
Boogie Brown Band, a project whos giving him a lot of good
experiences. In 1997 the band released our second CDMystic Whisper:
this work is working well on the US reggae radio and it was #1 on the
chart of the very good dutch reggae site Reggae Vibes!
I have to say that Mystic Whisper is a very good reggae album, with a
sort of old reggae taste. The four-pieces band (without horns) have an
essential sound and there is a great attention to the original reggae
grove, thanks to the John Roddes great work. The whole mood of the
record reminds me Israel Vibration for the strenght of the vibes and
the old Studio One sounds, for the good balance of rhythm and melody.
The CD has 13 good songs, some with sunny moods and some more conscious.
The lyrics are very positive and concerning themes like violence, war or
racial injustices.
You can read more informations in the following cyber-reasoning that I
had with Clinton Fearon.
BOOGIE BROWN BAND is available at the following
address:http://www.wolfenet.com/~boogie/CF.html
Interview by Pier Tosi.
Q: What is the story of Boogie Brown Band ? Did the members play in
other bands or have other musical experiences?
A:Well, we got started four and a half years ago here in Seattle. I had
been wanting to pursue my musical career much wider and further than I
had been in the past, so I decided to put a group together. We launched
out
by playing in several clubs, at parties and festivals and then recorded
our first CD, "Disturb the Devil". Actually, the band started out with
seven members. We had a couple of horns and a lead guitarist,
keyboards, rhythm guitar, bass and drums. Horn players dropped out -
their main interest was jazz. Then the lead guitarist
got married and left us four. Since then, we've formed a tight rhythm
section and produced our second CD, "Mystic Whisper" which is creating
quite a stir in the reggae world. Yes, all the musicians had previous
musical experiences playing with other groups. Barbara Kennedy, the
keyboard player, had classical piano training as a child and sang in
church. She has played with several other reggae groups as well as a
West African high-life group. Lamar Lofton, on bass, studied jazz in his
beginning phase and John Rodde, drummer, played jazz, blues, funk and
has also played with Joe Higgs, Frank Carroll and Michael Prophet.
Together the four of us have been working hard trying to keep that
positive stir going.
Q:How is "Mystic whisper" working in USA?
A:Very good. We've been getting nothing but good responses from the
radio stations we've sent it to and the stores that have it are doing
well with it - some already re-ordered. We have received some excellent
reviews from European countries but as of now, have been unable to get
European distribution. I don't know if it is because we are "small
fries" or it's because we haven't become a household name yet!
Q: A question about "fighting for survival": Boogie Brown Band is an
emerging reggae band : are you earning enough for living doing records
and playing live with Boogie Brown or do you have another work?
(concerning all the members)
A:It's right between the line there - whether to go look a job or
continue to play music but we manage to be getting by!! One member has
a part time job but the rest of us just play music.
Q:How many concerts has the band played since his birth?
A:That's a big question!! We haven't kept track of all the gigs but we
play on a real regular basis here in Seattle, up in Canada and in the
Pacific Northwest and thru the Rocky Mountain states.
Q:In Italy we heard a lot of things about Seattle as a big rock&roll
city (Nirvana etc..): how is the life in Seattle for a reggae addict?
A:It's very rough because the music that is widely spread is rock. All
the venues and stadiums, etc. only cater for one kind of music. They're
seeing the money market. In other words, we don't even have a full
fledged reggae club here. But there is potential and I think a reggae
club would do well in Seattle. Seattle gets all the major touring acts,
same as other US cities, but that's about it. There are very few places
where one can go to hear reggae music.
Q:Why did you immigrate to the USA?
A:Hmmm, to make more music, to just continue to spread the word. My
intention wasn't really to live here. Originally I planned to live here
six months, go back home for six months, and after doing that a couple
of times I realized I needed to stay here and get my green card so I
could work. That took years and I'm still here!
Q:When you were a youth, how did you get in touch with reggae music?
A:I used to listen to sound systems - dances that they have in the
country. As a little youth in short pants, I used to dig the music.
Sometimes I would even hide and take in some of it and get back before
bed time. And sometimes not before bed time, which spelled trouble!!!
Q:Do you remember "The harder they come"?: It was a usual thing that
youths from all over Jamaica went to Kingston with the dream to became
big reggae artists. Was it the same for you when you went there for the
first time?
A:Most likely. That movie is a good summary of most singers and
musicians from the Jamaican countryside.
Q: Can you tell me something about that period?
A:T'was really rough. The business abroad was hidden from the producers
of Jamaica or they didn't understand it well, but even then they knew
much more than the artists. So, we were like, way behind. A lot of the
reasons
for that was that the singers and artists loved the music so much that
they weren't paying much attention to the business side of it. All we
wanted to do was do a good song and that we would get paid later. It's
still later! There are several songs I never collected on. The living
situation in Kingston at that time was rough - due
to politics and poverty. Survival was the name of the game.
Q:What is your memory about Clement Coxsone Dodd and the time you worked
at Studio One??
A:Coxsonne Dodd loved the music and, you know, he allowed one to put
forth his or her creativity. When the song was finished he would always
listen to it and then make his descision whether to put it out or not.
We
used to lay sometimes ten, fifteen rhythms per day, some times seven
days a week.
Q:Do you have nice memories to tell about others producers?
A:Yes, Yabby You produced some excellent rhythms and songs. Just last
December, Barbara (keyboards) and I went up to Vancouver, BC, Canada, to
record with Yabby on a new project that has not yet been released. It
was really nice doing some music together again after such a long pause.
Prince Tony Robinson had good taste for hit songs. Jolly kind of guy,
you know! Nice bredren, but he loved money! At Channel One, there was
Jo-Jo. We did some rhythms for him and recorded as Gladiators for him -
about four or five songs. I don't know what happened to those songs. I
don't even remember if they did get released.
There are more and the stories go on and on..........
Q:I read that there was a special way to work in Black Ark Studios
surely due to crazy genius of Lee Perry. What are your memories?
A:Genius he was and probably still is. One time I remember we were
doing a session there, Scratch came over and whispered a bass line in my
ear and it was one ot the nicest bass lines and right when I thought we
were
going to record the rhythm, Scratch laughed and came back to me and
said, "You know, Basie, they don't ready for this, this is 20th century
rhythm." So we didn't record it! He's actually one of the most creative
producers
I know who doesn't play an instrument except for some percussions.
Q:How did you get in touch with Albert Griffiths and join the
Gladiators?
A:Thru Errol Grandison. He came by my house when I was just hummin' and
strummin' on some chords and he joined in and we started to sing a few
songs. And he said that Gladiators lost a member and he thought I would
be perfect for the position. He went and told Albert about me and we
met two weeks later and so, I joined the group from then on.
Q:Who are your favourite Jamaican fellow musicians?
A:There isn't just one. There are quite a few. The old time Wailers
with Peter, Bunny and Bob; the Heptones; Slim Smith and the Techniques;
Delroy Wilson; and then musicians - guitarists Earl "Chinna" Smith,
Ernie
Ranglin, and Clinton Rufus; bassists, Family Man and Lloyd Parks. Those
come immediately to mind - there are many many more great musicians from
Jamaica. Unfortunately some of the best never get a chance.
Q:What do you remember of the period in the 70s when reggae went
suddenly worldwide bigger and bigger?
A:Well, I was touring during that time with The Gladiators. It was a
blast! Really successful. The first time I toured, I realized how much
people know of reggae music and love reggae music. I remember though
when the producers started to get rich, you know, wearing pretty shoes,
driving fancy cars and wearing enough chains. That was a big sign to
tell you, hey, there's money being made in the business, but who's
gettin it?
Then when you tour and realize some of the things that goes down, and
how much people really love the music you say, OHHH, that's how these
producers have so much money. The bad thing about it, they came home
and told us pure lies, like our song had not been released yet, that
they went up there to deal with someone else's music, but they failed to
mention that your song had been released elsewhere, thus avoiding having
to pay the musicians. That was not uncommon.
Q:You surely knew Bob Marley. Can you tell us something about Bob??
A:Bob did love to play soccer. When Bob was in a good mood, he was the
nicest person to be around. And he really did love music, definitely
loved music, and he'd get right in it when he was doing it.
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